#8 v. #9 Shot

[Duffy]

Perhaps this question would be better categorized in the shooting games forum, but when shooting skeet, has anyone found a better performance advantage to shooting #9 shot as opposed to #8 shot, given that there are more pellets per shell? I thought I would ask since I will be buying shot to reload soon. I have only ever shot #8.

Thoughts?

[buckhunter]

If your loading for skeet only I would go with #9. It holds a few more pellets and I need all the advantage I can get.

If you can't get #9 then go with #8, next best.

[skeet]

Duffy.. to be honest ...in the 12 ga you won't swee any difference between 8s or 9s. especially at skeet distances. In the smaller gauges below the 20 it makes a bit of difference...especially in the 410. But even there I use 8 1/2s sometimes. Mainly for windy days. In fact I was loading only that one size for quite a while and saw no difference in my scores. Even with a marginal pellet hit with 8's it will usually break a target. For something so fragile clay targets really are hard to break:rolleyes: So in the 12 and 20...8s are just fine

[fabsroman]

Perhaps this question would be better categorized in the shooting games forum, but when shooting skeet, has anyone found a better performance advantage to shooting #9 shot as opposed to #8 shot, given that there are more pellets per shell? I thought I would ask since I will be buying shot to reload soon. I have only ever shot #8.

Thoughts?

I read an article about this some time ago and it said that it takes 3 pellet strikes from 8's to break a target and 2 pellet strikes from 7.5's to break a target. I have no idea how many it takes from 9's.

What 9's will do is allow you to open up your patterns some without experiencing holes in the pattern. For skeet, I use 9's since most of the targets are close and the pellets still retain a lot of energy when they hit the target. I also use the most open chokes I can find.

Skeet, as his screen name shows, is a monster skeet shooter, so even if he was using 5's in the 12 gauge it would not make any difference for him. He shoots consistently in the 90's with the .410. I'm pretty sure he would shoot consistently in the 99's with a 12 gauge and the only target he might miss with the 12 gauge is a mental mistake.

[skeet]

Thanks for blowin my horn. My 12 ga averages were about 9850 to 9900. In the 410 my average has really sucked in the last year or so.only about 93-94. Now as to misses..almost every miss with the 12 ga IS a mental error. 20 and 28 too. the 410 is a horse of another color though. Ya gotta be a very precise gun pointer with them as the core pattern really isn't any larger than about 10 inches. By core pattern I mean the never miss part of the pattern. Chokes sure have gotten better in the last 25-30 yrs.:D My shootin on the other hand has gone down the pooper.

[Adam Helmer]

Duffy,

GET in FRONT of them and even #6 shot will "smoke" them. Been there and done that.

Adam

[Duffy]

Good input. I'll try both and see if there is any noticeable difference. I know that shooting in the right spot, and mental "rightness" are the big details, though.

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Never cared for 8's OR 9's......lost a lot of birds to #8 shot when hunting; switched to 7s (NOT 7 1/2s) and problem was solved! Use to use #8 for trap shooting and targets only, but then started finding clays during the pick up that had one or two holes in them, but weren't busted. Started using 7s and my 'misses' became fewer.
Just the ramblings of an old man.................;)

[fabsroman]

Thanks for blowin my horn. My 12 ga averages were about 9850 to 9900. In the 410 my average has really sucked in the last year or so.only about 93-94. Now as to misses..almost every miss with the 12 ga IS a mental error. 20 and 28 too. the 410 is a horse of another color though. Ya gotta be a very precise gun pointer with them as the core pattern really isn't any larger than about 10 inches. By core pattern I mean the never miss part of the pattern. Chokes sure have gotten better in the last 25-30 yrs.:D My shootin on the other hand has gone down the pooper.

Hey, I have no problem giving credit where credit is due. Let me know if you are back in Maryland after tax season and maybe we can get together for some clay shooting. Pintail Point was pretty fun a couple of years ago.

[fabsroman]

Never cared for 8's OR 9's......lost a lot of birds to #8 shot when hunting; switched to 7s (NOT 7 1/2s) and problem was solved! Use to use #8 for trap shooting and targets only, but then started finding clays during the pick up that had one or two holes in them, but weren't busted. Started using 7s and my 'misses' became fewer.
Just the ramblings of an old man.................;)

That is how they did the "study" for the article I read. They went through the skeet/trap field and looked for unbroken clays with pellet holes through them. Then, they determined what size the pellet holes were and looked to see how many total pellet holes were in the clays.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the larger shot usually throws a tighter pattern because there is less deformation of the pellets upon firing. That might be another reason for improved performance with larger shot, especially at trap.

Me, I never use anything smaller than 7.5's for hunting, and that is only used on doves, crows, quails, and pen raised pheasants/chukars shot on game farms. Otherwise, it is always #6 or bigger.